The Green Party was not entitled to a place on Ohio's ballots in the 2000 presidential election, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

        The ruling comes more than a year after the Green Party sued Ohio for listing the name of its candidate, Ralph Nader, on the ballot without identifying his party affiliation.

        Mr. Nader collected enough voter signatures to qualify for the ballot, but the Green Party did not.

        Ohio law requires political parties to collect the signatures of at least 1 percent of voters who cast ballots in the previous election.

        State officials say the rule prevents the “chaos” that would ensue if everyone who ran for office claimed to represent a party, even if that party had no members other than the candidate.

        Mr. Nader and the Green Party argued that the rule violates their constitutional rights to free speech and free association.

        In its ruling Wednesday, the appeals court disagreed.

        The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati said Ohio has a legal right to exclude political parties that fail to prove they have at least minimal support or membership in the state.

        The appeals court ruling overturned a lower-court decision that had declared Ohio's rule unconstitutional.

        Representatives of the Green Party could not be reached for comment.

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